Women's Tennis Secures 4-2 Win Against No. 42 Charlotte

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HOUSTON, Texas — Rice women's tennis took down 42nd-ranked Charlotte, 4-2, on Sunday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The Owls are now 4-1 against AAC competition this season.

Doubles: Facing a doubles lineup featuring the nation's 60th-ranked doubles partnership, the Owls came out strong. At the first position, senior Federica Trevisan and graduate senior Chie Kezuka bettered their ranked opponents to claim a 6-4 win that set the tone for Rice's day. Junior Saara Orav and sophomore Darya Schwartzman then claimed the doubles point for the Owls with a 6-3 win at the second position.

Singles: With the lead heading into singles, the Owls won the opening set at five of six courts. Kezuka and freshman Divna Ratkovic capitalized on the momentum to secure a pair of straight-set wins. Ratkovic won, 6-1, 6-3, at the third position while Kezuka scored a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 4s to put Rice up, 3-0. The 49ers battled back with a pair of wins at the second and sixth positions, leaving the decision down to a pair of three-set matches at the first and fourth positions. At the top spot, Trevisan outlasted her competition to secure the 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win and clinch the match for the Owls. Down at the fifth position, Orav had also built a 2-1 lead early in the final set when the winning point was clinched.

Head coach Elizabeth Schmidt: "I thought we played well first. It was a really good doubles point. I told the team after that that was probably our most complete doubles point we've played as a team. It was good to get that doubles point in the way we did it: the way we played and stayed on it from start to finish was good. In singles, it felt like we controlled almost every court in the singles and then we got a little tight at some points closing it out, which that happens. That's sports. But what I'm really proud of is how our team really trusted themselves and each other and gave Fedi that opportunity to close it out in the end. That doesn't happen without Chie and Divna's really solid start-to-finish performance in singles. The other three who were either lost or were still playing, they were battling their hearts out and that's how you win a match like this. and just real quick. We've been close in a couple of these matches. I hope that our team will take some confidence from this that they can do it. Charlotte is a great team and we always have good battles against them. If we see them in the conference tournament, we'll be ready and I'm sure they'll be ready too. It's a great match and it always is with them."

Up Next: Rice heads to Florida for a trio of matches against ITA-ranked opponents. The Owls begin at No. 26 FIU on Friday, April 5, at noon. Rice will also face No. 52 South Florida on Saturday, April 6, and No. 64 FAU on Monday, April 8.

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